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Welcome! This is the home of the world-famous (well, maybe locally well-known) SLR.
Our start time is at 7:00 AM for the remainder of the summer! Every Saturday we meet at North Meade Street Park, a small park northwest of the USMC War Memorial (Iwo Jima Memorial) in Rosslyn. The closest address for mapping purposes is 1300 Arlington Blvd, and street parking is available in the neighborhoods adjacent to N. Meade Street. Be mindful of parking signs, since Arlington County enforces them enthusiastically, and please do not park on Marine Memorial Circle (inside Iwo Jima), because this parking area is for memorial use only. At least one porta-john is available year-round near the Iwo Jima Memorial, and the memorial's water fountain is usually on during the summer.
We run rain or shine! In cases of extreme weather (snow, ice, thunderstorms, heat waves) we do occasionally either change our meeting time or cancel the run for safety, but the run will be held as planned unless otherwise posted via email/twitter/facebook and here on the SLR web page.
All are welcome! We're an informal group, and there are no requirements for speed, racing experience, or what distance means "long" for you, other than the suggested route that most of our group will be running each week. If you don't want to run the same distance or course as the main group, you can go out for half of your own target distance and re-trace your steps back to Iwo Jima. More specific route info and mileage options will be given in the email/post preceding each Saturday's run. SLR always features a run from our extensive Route Catalog, which gives us a wide range of options to keep things fresh for you each week. We have routes that are flat, hilly, looped, out & back, roads, sidewalks, trails, and more, reaching all around the local area of DC, VA, and MD!
For more details about Saturday Long Runs please read our Frequently Asked Questions to get a sense for what it's like to run with us, or send an email to Anna if you have any other questions that are not covered.
To receive weekly SLR updates via email, please log in and check your email subscriptions.
Schedule:
| Date | Miles | Route Map | Navigation Downloads | Post/Mid-Run Beverages |
| 5/31 | 15 | Long Bridge Park | Cue Sheet & GPS | |
| 6/7 | 13 | Southeast DC | Cue Sheet & GPS | |
| 6/14 | 12 | Four Mile Run Park | Cue Sheet & GPS | |
| 6/21 | 14 | Capital Crescent OaB | Cue Sheet & GPS | Post: Kate Scott |
| 6/28 | 13 | Marymount Chain Bridge | Cue Sheet & GPS | Post: Kate Scott |
| 7/5 | 14 | MBT - Catholic | Cue Sheet & GPS | |
| 7/12 | 12 | RFK | Cue Sheet & GPS | |
| 7/19 | 14 | Ross Drive | Cue Sheet & GPS | Post: Kate Scott |
| 7/26 | 14 | Capital Crescent OaB | Cue Sheet & GPS | Post: Kate Scott |
SLR: New Route! Around the World in 14 Miles
Hello Saturday Long Runners!
Hope you like humidity because we’ll be serving it up on a warm, sticky platter for the remainder of the summer! The only thing to beat the summer heat is electrolytes, water, and some good old fashioned gels (or new, I guess, if you’re into those). As a reminder volunteering for post run drinks twice or mid run drinks once gets you Bunion Derby credit, the undying gratitude of all SLR attendees, and a shoutout in the world’s second-best Friday newsletter (Ali On The Run if you’re reading this hi! You win!). Now let’s get into it:
The Route: Ukraine! Finland! Belgium! Morocco! East Timor! Haiti! What do these all have in common? We’ll run by their embassies tomorrow morning in our new route: Around the World in 14 Miles (strava, gpx, pdf). All in all we’ll hit 62 (by my count) embassies in 14.7 (by Strava’s count) miles. Though I don’t recommend stopping at each of them, I do recommend playing my favorite game: what country flag is that? We’ll head out along the Mall and up 17th to Connecticut Ave. and get on Massachusetts Ave. to head up Embassy Row. At the Finnish Embassy we’ll turn right onto 34th street and head up to Van Ness via Reno Road. Take a right at the Malaysian Embassy and head around International Circle for a tour! After this we’ll head back down Connecticut Ave to the Klingle Trail and down RCP.
Want Something Shorter? There are countless red line stops available to hop on at and get your share of countries without all the dreaded downhills at the end of this run. Otherwise an out and back up Massachusetts Ave. will let you spot embassies on both sides of the street, something I often struggle with when doing this route.
Need a Longer Route? An out and back in RCP will get you some shade and some more miles. If you want more embassies, New Hampshire Ave. and Massachusetts Ave. have some more and will get you a few more miles. If there’s a particular country you’re looking for, this map is my go-to for all things embassies!
Thirsty? We will not be hitting Peirce Mill tomorrow, so there are minimal options for water after mile three when we hop off the Mall. Bring some in the morning! Or better yet, bring enough to share and volunteer for drinks!!
Need a Bathroom? These are also limited, and I can’t say I’d recommend asking any of the embassies nicely. There are some on the Mall at the Lincoln Memorial and a few more may be scattered throughout the route, but I don’t know of any that will definitely be open.
The next club race is the One Hour Track Run on Wednesday May 21st at St. Anges and St. Sebastian’s! Come out and test your counting abilities as a volunteer or an athlete. Prizes for anyone who can get over ten miles and permenant internet glory!
Happy Running!
Anna
SLR: 14 Miles Southeast DC
Hello Saturday Long Runners!
Spring is reminding us it isn't quite over yet with an absolutely lovely morning on deck for tomorrow. Dare I say the perfect combination of heat/humidity/wind/vibes to make for a wonderful Saturday morning. Now let's get into it:
The Route: This week we'll be treated to a nice tour of the Wharf and the southern portion of the Anacostia Riverwalk as we take on Southeast DC (strava, gps, pdf). We'll head into the city via the Memorial Bridge, head down L'Enfant Plaza and through the Wharf to get to the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge (new and improved as of a few years ago), make our way up the Anacostia Riverwalk and across the Sousa Bridge (named for the inventor of the Sousaphone), before heading to the Capitol via Pennsylvania and back to North Meade Park via the Mall. The easiest way to make sure you take the right bridge is to look for the Pirate Ship Playground. That's your cue to turn and head over the bridge immediately after it!
Want Something Shorter? Coming back across the 11th Street Bridge (a severely underrated DC bridge in my humble opinion) and heading back via M Street will get you around 12.5 miles instead of the normal 14. There's also the option to take the metro back ($2.50 on weekends!) from a number of stations including Potomac Ave, Eastern Market, Capitol South, and Smithsonian!
Need a Longer Route? The Anacostia Riverwalk is great for adding additional mileage (and is super flat too if you need a workout)! For 18 miles, consider doing the full Anacostia Riverwalk Loop. Another option for around 16 miles is to take the East Capitol Street Bridge back across the river and continue down East Capitol Street all the way to the Capitol to head back.
Thirsty? We're still in need of post-run. drink volunteers all summer! Please sign up today! As far as drinks along the route go, the water fountains along the Mall are flowing steadily, but if you depend on them they will certainly be turned off. Other than that there is a fairly dependable fountain near the pirate ship playground at mile 7.7 that is a good bet.
Need a Bathroom? Along the Mall you'll find the usual selection at the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial. There are also some very well-positioned ones also at 7.7 near the playground. Otherwise along Pennsylvania Ave. there are a lot of restaurants and shops that generally will let you use their restrooms if you ask nicely. My personal favorite restrooms are the ones in Capitol Hill Books in the foreign language section.
The next club race is the newly-ressurrected One Hour Track Run on May 21st at St. Stephen's and St. Agnes's High School. Special prizes for anyone to break the 10 mile barrier (that's forty laps for those counting at home). Speaking of counting, if you can count to 50 you can volunteer! Help out today and get in on the fun without all the dizziness!
Happy Running!
Anna
SLR: 12 Miles Potomac Overlook Loops
Hello Saturday Long Runners!
I’m back! If you had half as much fun at SLR as I did the past two weeks then you had some great runs. If you ever get the chance to run Big Sur I can’t recommend it enough. Thanks to Nate for taking over! We might get a little wet tomorrow morning, but I think we might luck out. Now let’s get into it:
The Route: Rain or shine (but hopefully shine), it’s Potomac Overlook Loops (strava, gps, pdf) time! This is outgoing President Ben’s favorite route in our repertoire and one that we don’t do nearly enough (as evidenced by the strava segment records on this loop coming from pre-pandemic runs). We’ll head out as if we’re going to do Chain Bridge (up Custis to Lorcom Lane and right onto Military Road) then make a turn onto Marcey Road (that’s the stoplight at the top of the hill after the circle across the street from the church). From here we’ll head back to Potomac Overlook Park and loop around that trail four (yes! FOUR!) times. The only trick here is DO NOT FOLLOW SIGNS FOR DONALDSON RUN, everything else is mostly straightforward on a single trail. Luckily, we’ve got a lot of loops to practice on (and we’ll retrace our steps afterwards back to the park the same way we came).
Want Something Shorter? Less loops means less mileage! You can cut this route easily down to a little over 9 with one loop, as each loop is only 1.25 miles (or a 2K for the metric folks).
Need A Longer Route? To avoid getting too dizzy, head back to Military Road and follow the Chain Bridge Loop the rest of the way around for a couple extra miles and the Marymount Chain Bridge Loop for even more!
Thirsty? There are water fountains at Potomac Overlook Park, but I haven’t been able to check if they’re on for the season or not (sorry!). Bring water, but hope for the best! The weather is also getting warmer which means it’s SLR Drink Season once again! Volunteer for post-run or mid-run drinks and get Bunion Derby series credit!
Need a Bathroom? Apparently Nate is against using the portopotties in people’s yards, but that might be your only option in the morning. There are restrooms at Potomac Overlook Park just up the road from the tennis courts, but I’m not sure they’ll be available tomorrow.
Thank you to Nate and Ben, our outgoing board members, for their dedication to the club over the past years! The Bunion Derby kicks off on June 8th with the Women’s Distance Festival and Run After the Women (yes, we use atlinks now for race registrations, no it won't have any hidden fees on your end)! Come out for a wonderful kick off to summer racing season or volunteer!
Happy Running!
Anna
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Upcoming Events
| Women's Distance Festival and Run After The Women Sun, Jun 8th, 2025, @8:00am |
| Rock Creek 5K Sun, Jun 22nd, 2025, @8:00am |
| Age-Handicapped 4-Miler Fri, Jul 4th, 2025, @7:00am |
| Bastille Day 5K Mon, Jul 14th, 2025, @6:00pm |
| Bluemont 5K Wed, Aug 13th, 2025, @6:00pm |
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The DC Road Runners Club is a member of the Road Runners Club of America and is also affiliated with USA Track & Field. We provide a year-round schedule of running events that offer everyone a chance to participate regardless of age, gender, or athletic ability. |